Preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome: Evaluation of a Multiple-Setting Program

Abstract

Abusive head trauma, including shaken baby syndrome, is a serious form of abuse that often results in lifelong developmental challenges or infant death. Educational programs have helped reduce the number of infants hospitalized due to abusive head trauma. The current study provides a process evaluation of Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee’s Shaken Baby Prevention Project. We utilized survey data from (a) 189 trained professionals who delivered the program to new parents in either the hospital or home-visiting setting and (b) 5,565 new mothers who participated in the program in one of those two settings ( n = 5,416 hospital setting; n = 149 home-visiting setting). Results suggest that Shaken Baby Prevention Project facilitator training was effective, and the intervention was well-received by mothers in both the home and hospital settings. Furthermore, shaken baby syndrome information should be provided in both home and hospital settings because each provided access to a different population.